Analysis of the 12 April 2020 Northern Louisiana Tornadic QLCS

Abstract

On 12 April 2020, a tornadic quasi-linear convective system (QLCS) produced two EF-3 tornadoes in Ouachita Parish, Louisiana in close proximity to instrumentation operated by the University of Louisiana Monroe’s (ULM) Atmospheric Science program. In addition to the in situ environmental information, a high-resolution aerial damage survey was conducted by the ULM Unmanned Aerial Systems program. In this paper, these datasets are used to provide a comprehensive environmental and storm-scale analysis of the tornadic QLCS through northern Louisiana. In addition, we discuss the importance of aerial damage surveys, and how Doppler radar-derived tornado intensity estimates compared to the damage survey.